To Ryan Rybolt, helping businesses retain young executives here can be as simple as painting walls at Western Hills High School.

        That's the next project for Give Back Cincinnati, a group of nearly 300 young professionals — most of them under 35 — that Mr. Rybolt helped start a year ago.

Jamal Muashsher (front), vice president of Give Back Cincinnati, stands with President Ryan Rybolt and Membership Director Kara Holdgreve in a Western Hills High School hall the organization will paint as one of its community projects. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        It promises the “guilt-free volunteering” that he believes can lead to roots in the community and long-term employees.

        “That's one of our deliveries to companies we talk to about sponsorships,” said Mr. Rybolt, 27, a Greater Cincinnati native who has worked at Procter & Gamble Co. and is now at Fifth Third Bank. “We tell them, "Offer this to your employees. If you retain one employee because of us, you make a lot of money back.'”

        While the group is built around fun — there are social events after each volunteer session — it also serves a serious purpose.

        Companies like P&G and Fifth Third are trying to retain young workers in a city that Forbes magazine rated one of the worst in the hip, cutting-edge atmosphere that young singles covet.

        For Tristate businesses, the numbers don't lie. In the 1990s, the Greater Cincinnati population ages 25-34 fell 8.7 percent to 278,601, according to Census Bureau numbers.

        The theory is that more networking and community interaction by young executives will help keep them here.

        Michael Fisher, president of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, said the benefits of groups such as Give Back Cincinnati extend far beyond the particular charitable project.

        “Attraction and retention of talent, and especially young mobile talent, is one of the keys to the 21st-century economy,” Mr. Fisher said.

        The community effort is one of several organized gatherings of younger professionals. For example, a group called Build Cincinnati was formed several years ago to push for civic improvements, such as the direct election of a mayor and, most recently, civil-service reform in Cincinnati.

        That group has up to 40 members of all political persuasions, said Aaron Herzig, one of the organizers and head of a local consulting firm.

        “If I were moving to other places, I would look to see energy in my peers,” Mr. Herzig said. “This is a group of young people that saw a problem and decided they would try to fix it. ... For us, it was government structures.”

        For Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble in particular, prosperity depends on being able to recruit talented graduates from premier business schools. That's why P&G and several other local companies are supporting Give Back Cincinnati with seed money.

        The key is keeping those people here.

        “P&G brings people to Cincinnati, and they basically hang out with P&G people,” said Mr. Rybolt, a native Cincinnatian. “They can't tap into the social outlets.”

        Most of Give Back Cincinnati's supplies are donated by Home Depot. This year, the group has scheduled six events, including one Feb. 16 at Western Hills, one at a local senior center, one at Roberts Paideia School, and one at St. Vincent DePaul Society.

        Mr. Rybolt wants to use the chamber to get the word to most Tristate companies. He thinks Give Back Cincinnati can help them retain employees by giving young employees that outlet to meet people and put down roots in the community.

        “I see the potential each time we talk to an executive in one of the sponsoring companies,” he said. “Their eyes just light up.”

        For more information about Give Back Cincinnati, visit its Web site at www.givebackcincinnati.org.
       

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